Crushed to death by killer storm: High school cheerleader dies after tree falls on trailer in North Carolina

A high school cheerleader and aspiring nurse was killed after a tree fell on her trailer in North Carolina just days before she was due to graduate. 

Kara Bryson, 18, died on Monday morning when winds of up to 70mph uprooted a tree which crushed the camper she was staying in with friends at picturesque Penland Point close to the Chatuge Lake.

She was scheduled to graduate from Tuscola High School in her hometown of Waynesville, NC, on Friday this week. 

Kara was in the trailer with four friends at the time, according to Clay County NC Emergency Services who responded at the scene over Memorial Day weekend. 

'A large tree had been up-rooted by heavy straight-line winds and landed on the portion of the trailer that housed the victim,' the department said. 

Kara Bryson (pictured) 18, died on Monday morning when winds of up to 70mph uprooted a tree which crushed the camper she was staying in with friends at picturesque Penland Point close to the Chatuge Lake

Friends who launched a fundraiser for Kara's devastated family described her as 'a beautiful soul who was tragically taken too soon'. 

They said she was 'recently pinned as a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant)' and she 'enjoyed working with the residents' at her local Skyland Terrace nursing home. 

'Kara is loved by many especially by her mother, father, and three younger brothers,' the fundraiser reads. 

The teenager's cheer team also mourned her loss in a heartbreaking message posted to Facebook. 

'This is a loss. A devastating loss. A tragedy to everyone, most importantly to her family and friends… but also a horrible loss to our cheer family,' Tuscola High School Mountaineers Cheerleading said. 

The teenager's cheer team also mourned her loss in a heartbreaking message posted online

Kara was in the trailer with four friends at the time, according to Clay County NC Emergency Services who responded at the scene over Memorial Day weekend

'We love you, Kara! Always a Tuscola Cheerleader. Always in our hearts. Forever missed!'

The high school senior had planned to get ready for graduation with her best friend Callie Parker on Friday, like they did for prom earlier in May, according to The Mountaineer. 

Callie is now planning to decorate an empty chair to remember Kara on graduation night, according to the outlet. 

The high school senior had planned to get ready for graduation with her best friend Callie Parker (left) on Friday, like they did for prom earlier in May, according to The Mountaineer

Friends said Kara was 'recently pinned as a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant)' and she 'enjoyed working with the residents' at her local Skyland Terrace nursing home

'There is going to be a spot missing, someone who worked hard their whole life to be there and now doesn't have the opportunity,' Chloe Thompson, a fellow high school senior and cheerleader told The Mountaineer. 

'I think it is going to be hard for all of us.'